


Zuko/ Reader

by 777Kylo



Category: AtLA - Fandom, Avatar - Fandom, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Avatar: The Last Airbender - Freeform, Dom!Zuko, F/M, Prison, That’s a lie I just have bad writer’s block, Zuko is angry, Zuko is baby, Zuko/Nonbending!reader, i have no idea where I’m going with this, identity crisis, zuko/reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:54:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25910890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/777Kylo/pseuds/777Kylo
Summary: As a non-bender, being imprisoned by the powerful and dangerous fire nation is practically a death sentence. But being transported on the same ship that carries the banished prince is a whole different story.
Relationships: Zuko x Reader, Zuko/ nonbending! reader, zuko/ female reader, zuko/ reader
Comments: 20
Kudos: 143





	1. Chapter 1

Your arms felt weak as you struggled to push yourself up off of the cold ground, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. You almost forgot what had happened, but as the memories from the previous days flooded your brain, you hoped it had just been a bad dream.

The smoke, the screaming, and the violent flames, all prominent elements of the apparently huge chapter in your life that you couldn’t seem to remember.

You traced your fingers over a throbbing burn mark on your neck, your skin warm to the touch. You winced a bit at the stinging, gritting your teeth as you sat all the way up onto your knees, brushing your hair behind your ears. You tried to ignore the pain, and figure out where you were. Looking around didn’t help much. The room was empty, metal bars separated you from a dimly lit area outside of your’s. You squinted a bit, noticing an emblem on the large metal door. 

Suddenly, it swung opens. Startled, you fell onto your back, weakly struggling to scramble back. A man scoffs slightly and turns to another man behind him.

”The water tribe girl is finally awake,” he says.

The second man laughs and stands there with him for a moment.   
“... Go alert Prince Zuko, you idiot,” he says to him sternly, giving him a firm shove. He nods and runs off, the first man giving his attention back to you.

Your heart drops and you feel winded. Prince Zuko, on the same ship as you? Your chances of survival are dropping by the minute.

”So, girl, I assume you’re starving? I’m sure there’s a nice, hearty meal ready for you,” he says tauntingly.

You say nothing and stare at the ground.

”Are you going to answer me?” He asks again, taking a step closer to the bars of the cell.

You glare up at him. You know you need food and water soon to survive, but you’re not sure if that would even be worth it. You look away.

He now grips the bars of the cell and tilts his head a bit.

”What is it? Are you scared? Of what?”

A few flames form from his hands, the bars glowing red quickly.

”Fire?” He asks again.

Your eyes widen a bit as you scoot back, your neck throbbing as you see the flame grow, yet you can’t exactly remember what happened. You squeeze your eyes shut, not wanting to even think of the possibilities of what he could do with the flames. He chuckles a bit and withdraws his flames, the bars’ glow dimming by the second.

“Fine. it’d be a shame if we spen any of our precious food on scum like you anyways. Just waste away, like all of our other prisoners ,” he says, turning around to walk out. 

”O-Oh! Prince Zuko, General Iroh! My apologies!”

You feel the pit in your stomach grow even deeper.

Silence, aside from the sound of a pair of footsteps going farther away, and two pairs drawing nearer.

You sit still, your eyes still squeezed shut, the only thing you can now hear is the sound of your heart beating out of your chest. In front of you stands the Dragon of the West, and the banished prince, two staples of power and skill in terms of fire bending.   
  


“So you’re finally awake,” Prince Zuko says quietly. 

“And I bet you’re starving. Uncle?”

”Young lady, we brought you some food,” the older man says calmly, stepping closer to you. You open your eyes and continue to stare at the ground as you see a tray with a bowl of rice and some vegetables, scarcely and practically garnished with meat on it.   
  


“Yeah. Hearty,” you think to yourself. You don’t know if you should trust it. You glance up at Iroh for reassurance. His eyes are more warm than you expected. Maybe it was the darkness of the room, but he didn’t look as menacing as you expected. Then your eyes glanced at Zuko.

You jerked back slightly and covered up, as if you were protecting yourself from being attacked. Zuko looked confused for a moment, glancing at his uncle. Your memories started coming back, pieces of the puzzle fitting together.

You were with your tribe during the raid. There weren’t many benders there, so it was mostly trained swordsmen against benders, and they had basically sacrificed themselves in order to give everyone else enough time to escape. You weren’t trained in battle as well as some of the others in your tribe, but you fought alongside some of the people you had grown up with, and who had raised you. 

“(Y/N),get out of here. You’re too young to be fighting,” an older man in your tribe warned you loudly, concerned. You furrowed your eyebrows and shook your head.

”No. I need my family to get out safely,” you said confidently, holding onto your weapon tightly. He knew how stubborn you were, but continued warning you, desperately trying to get you to join the others.

”You have to continue your bloodline. Keep the tribe alive, be a mother someday and tell your children how you survived these violent attacks. Most importantly, never let it happen again, (Y/N).”

At this you simply ignored him and charged one of the fire nation soldiers, swinging your weapon furiously. You heard yelling from behind you, felt the snow melting beneath your feet from the flames you were being bombarded with. Things weren’t looking too good for you, and they didn’t turn out too good. For a split second, you felt a sharp pain in your head, and you fell to the ground, unconscious.

When you had awoken, you couldn’t tell if minutes, hours, or days had gone by, but what you saw around you was scarring. Bodies of your tribe lay around. Your vision was blurry from dizziness and tears, and you pushed yourself up, trying to scramble to the nearest body, shaking them, trying to wake them up desperately.

”One is alive!” You heard, and you turned your head.  
  
The only thing you could see were flames. You felt the blistering heat hit your neck, and you fell back to your knees in pain, screaming and writhing. You placed your hands over your neck, falling to your side. You opened your eyes one last time, seeing someone walk towards you. Your eyes slowly rolled up to their face, seeing the scarred face of prince Zuko before the pain was too unbearable for you to remain conscious.   
  
  


You knew who Zuko was, you knew what he looked like, but seeing his face brought everything back. Iroh looked concerned, but Zuko held a straight face. Iroh opened his mouth to speak, but Zuko cut him off.

”It’s my scar. She fears me.”

You blink back tears, running your fingers over your neck gently, your burn mark tingling at the memories. 

”You... You did this to me,” you whimper between sobs. Zuko’s face softens a bit and his mouth opens.

”No, I-“

”Don’t try to act like you didn’t mean to!” You shout at him, backing up further into your cell.  
He simply furrows his eyebrows.

”Fine! Be stubborn. You can starve, maybe I’ll give you another wound!” As he speaks, he shoots a flame angrily and turns back, storming out of the room.

Iroh turns and watches him leave, sighing and stepping towards you. He sits on the ground in front of you and the bars, placing his hands on both of his knees. 

“I apologize for my nephew,” he says. You scoff softly at this, thinking about the fact that you’re imprisoned.

”Most of your tribe survived. They got away, I promise,” he says.

”Why would I believe you?”

”What would I gain from lying to you?”

Youre silent.

”You should eat.”

”I’m not hungry,” you say, your body weak and your head pounding.

Iroh laughs and holds his chest, before squinting a bit at you.

”Your neck... I didn’t even notice how bad it really was. We will get that healed up soon enough,” he says, concern in his voice.

”Why would you even want to help me?”

“They want to keep you alive so you can talk.”

”And what about you?” You ask him. He’s quiet and stands up.

”You should eat,” he says evasively, turning around.

”I promise my nephew isn’t always this... No. he is. But he never meant to hurt you. Just scare you.”

”How thoughtful,” you mumble under your breath. You hear him stifle a laugh as he walks away, the heavy metal door closing again.   
  


In the passing hours, you pick at your food, the flavor getting worse as it gets cooler. But, you need the strength. You already feel yourself getting stronger.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N i. Want. To. Write. Smut. But. I. Don’t. Know. When.

A few days had passed since you regained consciousness, and you struggled with getting back to sleep. Your body wasn’t used to the cold hard floor of the cell, nor was it adapted to how hungry you were. They had only brought you food one other time since you woke up. You determined that it must be mind games, that they want you to be desperate so you will give up your tribe’s plans and such.

You lay awake on the uncomfortable floor one evening, trying to fall back asleep. You couldn’t tell if it was the discomfort or hunger, but despite your exhaustion, you couldn’t manage to get anymore rest. Every time you started to, either something would pop into your mind that you couldn’t get out, you’d get sore and have to toss and turn, or you would simply be too distracted by your hunger to even feel tired. Tonight seemed a bit easier, though, and you finally felt yourself drifting to sleep, your waking thoughts melting into dreams.   
  


The large metal door creaked open, your body jerking slightly, startled at the sudden noise. You heard it close, and shuffling towards the bars. You tried to pretend you were asleep still, steadying your breath and keeping your body still. Whoever had come in set down something down on the cell in front of you, sitting down quietly. You assumed it was food. Despite your growling stomach, you forced yourself to stay “asleep”. Besides, you weren’t sure if you could stomach another bowl of rice and vegetables.   
  


“I know you’re awake.”

The voice startled you slightly, and you jumped a bit. You sighed softly and struggled to sit up, your arms shaking as you pushed yourself from a laying to sitting position. It was Iroh.  
  


“I brought you something to eat,” he says to you. You glance at the tray, expecting to see the all too familiar rice and vegetables, bits of meat scattered on the top, but you’re shocked to see something much better. A platter with seafood, a salad, and even a slice of some sort of pastry, as well as a porcelain cup filled with tea.  
  


“I’m not hungry,” you said stubbornly, your mouth watering.

”You’re not hurting anyone other than yourself by not eating. Especially not now. The others seem to think it’s a good idea to withhold food from you, to get you to talk. This was my second serving, I snuck it to you,” Iroh says.

Second serving? The platter looked like it could feed you and a friend.

You nodded to him.

”Thank you,” you say softly as he slides the tray under the bars. You begin slowly eating, your stomach feeling better and better as you eat more.

”Your burn doesn’t seem to be getting any better,” he says quietly, tilting his head slightly concerned. “Not like I expected it to. That’s why I brought you this.”

You glance at him, and he pulls some bandages from his robe, as well as a vial of a solution.

”It should heal up in no time after we wrap you up.”

You set your food down, sitting all the way upright. 

Iroh nods and stands, unlocking the cell door. You stayed on the ground, and the man knelt next to you. He opened the vial, gently dabbing a piece of cloth onto it, then onto your wound. You winced a bit and he gently cleaned your wound. The pain started to fade a bit, and it started to feel a bit nicer, almost cooling the wound down.

”This helps with the healing, it should be-“

The door squeaked open again, and you winced at the noise. 

“I knew I would find you in here, uncle.”

Iroh stood up, the bandages still in his grip.

”Zuko, I’m not going to let you starve her to death. If she holds any information that you want, you will waste it by killing her first if you’re going to go about it on your own.”

”Why would you be treating the enemy like they’re one of us? She is scum.”

Zuko steps inside of the cell, towards Iroh, Iroh’s back turned to you.

”You never take me seriously. I’m in control here, YOU need to listen to ME, uncle,” Zuko shouts. Iroh stands calmly. Zuko is so distracted by his uncle, you debate making a run for it. You take a few scoots towards the open cell door, glancing back and fourth at Zuko. As you get closer and closer to the exit, your hope builds stronger. If you can just get into the hallway, you are sure you can find your way off of the ship. your eyes are locked on the exit, escape the only thing on your mind. 

”Prince Zuko, I’m only trying to help. She is a human, too, at the least she deserves food.”

”She will get it when she learns her place, and decides to cooperate.”

With that, you feel a foot pushing you down onto your stomach. Zuko puts some of his weight on your back and a forced sigh escapes your lips, your jaw trembling.

”From now on, nobody else comes into this cell. Only me. She will eat when she decides to talk.”

Iroh nods slightly and begins to leave. He stops, then turns to Zuko.

”At least clean up the mess you’ve made,” he says, handing him the bandages. Zuko stares down into his hands, his mouth opening slightly, his eyes flashing a bit. Iroh goes on his way.

Zuko removes his foot from your back after a moment kneeling next to you.

”Sit up,” he says, his voice stern but cold. You weakly push yourself off of the ground, sitting up, and he kneels next to you. You evade eye contact, staring at anything but him. The rusty bars, the dank floors, anything besides those eyes.   
  


Zuko pushes your hair back behind your neck, pausing upon looking at the wound. He lets out a quiet sigh, picking up the vial that Iroh had been using, cleaning more of it.   
  


“It will probably scar,” he says, breaking the silence.

you grit your teeth and close your eyes to stop any tears from slipping out of them, your heart pounding.

”How comforting,” you mumble passively.

Zuko pulls back and stiffens up, speaking aggressively.

”Look, I...”

He sighs quietly and looks down at the ground, no longer as tense.

”I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

”You didn’t mean to hurt me by killing my people?”

”I didn’t kill anyone!” He desperately shouts, slamming the vial on the ground, the glass shattering and the liquid spilling. 

”I didn’t kill anyone! They did!”

”Whose orders were they following?” You ask, your chest rising and falling as you try to stay strong and not cry.

”You’re lucky you’re alive,” he hisses.

”Now let me help you.”

Zuko holds the bandages, carefully but clumsily wrapping them around your neck, covering the wound tightly. You wince and twist at the sharp pain.

”Just hold on,” he says, annoyed.

”I wouldn’t trust you on healing burn wounds,” you say. You glance down at him smugly, instantly regretting your choice of words. He stops touching the bandages and pulls back.

”And what’s that supposed to mean?”

You swallow dryly and your mouth parts slightly. You try to come up with an explanation, but you can’t seem to think of anything.

”No, say it!”

”No, I-“

”My scar, I got it as a child when I had no way to defend myself. You, on the other hand, are much older than I was. You should have fought harder.”

He shoves you onto the ground, and you scramble back, holding the bandages. He stands up and stares at you, letting out an amused hum.

“That’s what i thought. Weak as ever.”

You look at him in the eye, seeing a scared, defensive boy. He looks like he just got caught taking money from his mother, or something else juvenile. He’s just a child trying to mature too fast. You tilt your head at him and sit up slightly.

”How did you get your scar?” You ask quietly. He looks confused, but then mad.

”Why do you want to know?”

”Because it bothers you so much and-“

”It bothers me because people like you look at me like I’m an outcast. You’re an outcast, not me. Fighting against the strongest army! You should-“

”I’m really curious, Zuko.”

Zuko looks dumbfounded. He swallows hard and opens his mouth to speak, but stops.   
  


“You don’t need to know. Just... go to sleep.”   
You continue to look at him as he just stands there.

”Go!”

You slide back to the area you had been sleeping towards the back of the cell, laying down on the cold floor yet again. You close your eyes, but can still sense his presence a few minutes in. Your eyes flutter open, and you see him kneeling by the broken glass, picking up the tiny shards, placing them in a small bag. You watch him for a moment, and he stands, turning to look at you. You quickly close your eyes, pretending to be asleep. You hear his footsteps coming near again, and you tense up slightly. Instead, you feel a soft material being placed over your form. You soften a bit, opening your eyes and sitting up slightly to confront him, but he has already turned and shut the cell door, it locking behind him. You watch him leave through the solid metal door, feeling more confused as you continue to think about it.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning you rise on your own, your body wrapped up in the warm robes that had been placed on you the previous night. You sighed. You remembered you had slipped into it completely sometime in the night, your arms in the sleeves. The fabric clung to you loosely, the sleeves hanging over Your hands. You stretched and shivered a bit as you struggled to stay warm, your hands numb from the coldness. The previous days had only been feeling more uncomfortably cold, and you knew that you would get sick if you didn’t try everything to stay warm. 

You figured that it couldn’t hurt to eat food, and get some more energy in your body so you shifted over to the tray of last nights leftovers, cautiously watching for any broken glass that may have been left from the vial of medicine Zuko angrily shattered. You stared at the ground, the area still damp and a few flakes of glass sparkling against the faint flickering fire from the hallway. You picked at some of the food, quickly deciding that the pastry was the best bet. It was a little bit stale, but managed to taste a little bit more fresh than the other food which had either become too cool or too warm to enjoy. You sighed a breath of relief, washing down each bite with a drink of old, room temperature tea. The squeaking of the door alerted you, and the familiar voice spoke.

”You’re eating that old food?”

Zuko sounded almost disgusted, or worried. You couldn’t tell. You figured it was the first, why would he care for a prisoner.

”I bet you’re starving.”

‘Neither,’ you thought to yourself. ‘Not disgusted or worried, he’s just trying to mess with my head.’

”You would be provided with a much nicer, warmer room and some much better, warmer food if you would just answer some of my questions, (Y/N).”

You tensed at the sound of him saying your name. The way his Fire Nation lips spoke it made you crawl in your skin; you wanted to lunge at him. You kept your composure. Or maybe it was the strong iron bars separating you.  
  


”Where is your tribe headed? We know they had plans to migrate, so they must be on their way there now, but we’re not sure where. We know your tribe had a run in with the Avatar, and we know that you’re protecting your tribe.”

  
You felt physically sick. You knew nothing of what he was talking about. First off, your tribe was migrating to evade Fire Nation persecution. You weren’t sure where yet, though, the elites of your small tribe hadn’t made any final decisions yet. Second, you had no idea what he had been talking about with the ‘Avatar’. You had just heard the Avatar had returned days before you were attacked, there was no time for you or your tribe to run in with him. Your tribe was fairly small, things spread quickly. You were sure you would have heard if the Avatar was on your land.   
  


“I don’t know anything,” you simply say quietly. Zuko gives a half smirk, sitting up. 

“I can wait all day.”

”I’m telling the truth. I’m not old enough to have anything to do with the people in charge in my tribe- they hadn’t even decided where we would be relocating, and-“

”So they were in fact relocating...Probably near another water tribe,” Zuko said to himself, cutting you off. “Did they say anything about moving near or to another water tribe’s land?”

”Well, no,” you say after a moment of silence, fidgeting with your hands. The truth was, you had heard some rumors of the tribe sailing towards the Northern Water Tribe and settling a bit off of their coast on another strong strip of ice, but that was just talk. Instantly, the look on your face gave it away. 

”That answers that. And who else but one of the largest and strongest water tribes than the Northern tribe? Not to boast, but I based our current route to lead us there. I had an inkling that’s where we would end up. We’ve been on this rout for a few days now, I believe,” Zuko says again.

”But the Avatar. Tell me what you know about him,” you say. You bite your tongue and stare at the ground, tears forming in your eyes. If your tribe were to be harmed because of your big mouth, you’d be crushed. You had to thinn of something.   
  


“Ba Sing Se,” you said, staring at the ground.   
“That’s where he said he would be going sometime soon. He didn’t say when, though,” you said, lying through your teeth. ”But soon,” you finished.

Zuko stood and turned, a confident but slight grin on his face, grabbing the door handle.

”Wait- what about my food? My room?”

”You’re dense if you believed me for half a second. Room and board for a pathetic prisoner like you?” Zuko simply shook his head and turned towards you, then back out of the hallway. You saw the grin fade into an emotionless face, and he walked out of the room, the heavy door closing behind him. 

You say there, stunned and numb, physically and mentally. You couldn’t think, you just wanted to be sick. You crawled back to your hard, freezing sleeping area, glass poking into you annoyingly, but you didn’t budge at the sharp jabs of pain in your palms and knees. You simply curled up. You felt weak and tired, your limbs shaking from the coldness. Your whole body felt stiff, it was difficult to move even a tiny bit to try to attempt to achieve some sense of comfort. As your eyes grew heavier as time passed, you grew increasingly worried. Would you live long enough to even see your family again? Would you even want to see them again, all of your missing friends and family would be a huge void in your heart, and you would hate for them to see the failure you’ve become, or at least the failure that you thought you’d become.

Your eyes fluttered closed, your body relaxed a bit. You figured you’d get some much needed rest.


	4. Chapter 4

The door squeaked open, and Zuko carried in a tray with some rice, a semi-warm cup of tea that his uncle had prepared, and some scraps of meat. He glanced at your form, no longer shivering but sound asleep.

”Wake up,” he commanded sternly. When you didn’t respond, he stepped forward and shook the bars, repeating himself louder. He stared at your form, noticing the drained color of your face, and your struggled facial expression. Zuko’s eyes widened slightly and he rushed to unlock your cell, running over to you and squatting next to you. He placed a hand on your skin. You were still soft, but cold as ice. He slid a hand to your stomach slightly, feeling the slightly warmer flesh. He let out a sigh of relief, and began to slide off his top robe to lay over you, but stopped himself as he saw your face. Your lips almost looked blue, he could see your breath as you exhaled, as well as his own. The days after his last visit to you, his ship had traveled much closer to the North Pole than anticipated, and it was a lot colder than normal on the ship. Your face was relaxed, but it looked worried somehow. He furrowed his brow, and placed an arm under your neck and head, and another under your legs, picking you up swiftly.   
  


After looking around, making sure nobody was in sight. Zuko carefully and quietly led you to his room. He reluctantly laid you on his bed carefully. He pulled a cover over your body as well as the robes you had on, wrapping your form in it snugly. He fire bender a bit, holding the fire towards your core, gliding it around your body, but not too close. You snuggled into your blankets sleepily, not waking up. Every time you moved, he tensed up, and when he saw you remain asleep, he let out quiet sighs of relief. He was only doing this to keep you as bait for your tribe, or at least that’s what he told himself. Or maybe it was because he didn’t have the heart to kill anyone on his own terms.   
  
Zuko kept at his warming for a few minutes, until your flesh was even warmer to the touch, your face looked much more relaxed and your skin looked healthy again. He let out a sigh of relief and gently pushed your hair out of your face to glance at your lips, noticing the blue tint on your lips was mostly gone. He figured. A little more warming couldn’t hurt, so he continued his bending.

Soon enough, your eyes began to flutter open. Your first sight was Zuko, his eyes seemed distracted by something, his face glowing with the energy he was controlling with his hands. Your eyes darted to where he was staring, and you screamed at the sight of fire, especially fire being controlled by him, and so close to you. You kicked and scrambled back, shaking.

”I’m not trying to hurt you! You were freezing!” He yells, startled by your sudden alertness. You gasped and rubbed your eyes sleepily, shaking your head

”N-No!” You tiredly stammered.

”I don’t want that anywhere near me!”

”You’ll freeze to death. You need it, for now at least.”

You sat upright, your chest heaving as you struggled to breathe right, shaking your head.

”No,” you croaked out.   
  


Zuko sighed quietly and looked to the side, gritting his teeth.

”You just need to get your core temperature regulated, or you’ll get sick, or worse.”

You eased up slightly, shivering as you tried to calm down, nervous as Zuko’s eyes turned back to you. He held his hand over your abdomen, small flames forming in his hand. You winced at the sudden warmth, jumping slightly.   
  
“Relax. I’m not even bending that much fire, just enough to keep you warm,” he says, his voice ringing with focus. You nod silently, but continue to writhe with discomfort and nervousness with every shift in temperature, every wandering spark, and every movement of his hand. 

“That should be good. Why didn’t you tell me you were cold?” 

You looked at him in awe. After he raided your tribe, and had his men kill your family and friends, he had the nerve to ask you why you didn’t ask him to make your living conditions a little bit better. You gave him a sharp slap across the face. He winced and rubbed his cheek, then grew angry.

“I-...”

Zuko simply sighed and stood up, throwing a blanket over your body.

”You’re lucky. I’m already late for training.” 


	5. Chapter 5

You maintained warmth for the following five minutes, approximately. Every moment seemed to get colder and colder, and you could only shiver under Zuko’s thick blankets, which helped a little bit. Your jaw chattered as you anxiously waited for him to return. You didn’t want to see him, and despite your hatred for fire and fire bending alike, you couldn’t deny that his fire bending helped you to warm up. The door quietly opened, and somehow it managed to startle you more than the metal creaky door in the cell you had been staying in. Maybe you had grown used to the taunting squeak of your heavy metal cage, but the soft noise of Zuko’s door in his quarters were almost too comforting to be real.   
  


The slight sound of panting filled the room, and you glanced towards the door. Zuko stood with a towel around his neck, holding a canteen of water. He took a long swig, gasping for air, before slamming the door behind him. You saw his face, small beads of sweat dripping from it.  
  


”What.”

You simply shook your head, and he glanced the other way.

”Any warmer?” he asked you, setting down his canteen on a dresser, walking towards the edge of the bed.

”No,” you simply said, your voice quiet. The situation was too strange, and the both of you were too awkward to even fathom how to go about starting good conversation.   
  
“... How was training?” You asked after an extended moment of silence. Zuko simply scoffed.

”I’m not your friend. I’m simply your captor; don’t try to make this into something it’s not,” he said, his cheeks flushed.

You furrowed your brows.

”I’m not _trying_ to do anything, Zuko. Well, not besides make this whole experience less awful than it is for myself,” you say, your voice cracking a bit. Zuko turns away and sighs softly, running his hand over his head, smoothing out his ponytail.

”It went fine.”

You simply nodded, and he pulled your blankets to your hips.

”I’m sure you’re still freezing. And I just got warmed up with my bending,” he hums softly. You hesitantly nod, and he formed flames in his hands, holding them over your abdomen, gliding his hands up and down above your body, the warmth spreading from your tummy to your chest and shoulders. He kneels on the bed beside you. You sigh softly, the comfort of the fire making you feel safe.   
  


“I’m sure you’re hungry,” he says softly, his voice somehow being sweet to your ears.

”My uncle is bringing us some food right now, but I thought I’d tend to your needs first.”

You nod, and look at Zuko in the eyes.

”You never told me what happened to your eye,” you say softly, glancing at it. Zuko stops bending for a moment, tilting his head.

”Like I said, I’m not your-“

”It looks like a burn. Was it another fire bender?” You ask, sitting up a bit.

”... Yes. It was,” he says softly.

You frown a bit and reach forward. Zuko jumps back and you hush him gently, running your thumb over the soft flesh surrounding his scalded burn.

”Does it... Ever hurt?” You ask him softly.

”It’s always dry. It’s sore a lot,” he says quietly, taken aback by your forwardness.

You stand up, Zuko’s robes clinging loosely to your figure. You head towards his restroom, and he stands up quickly.

”What are you-“

You open a few drawers, pulling out a Jar containing a cream.

”Here,” you say softly. “Does this stuff feel nice on it? I know you’ve put it on before, don’t act like you haven’t.”

Zuko silently nods, and you grab his wrist gently, leading him back to his bed.   
  
“Lay back,” you say softly. He does so, slightly confused.

You hold the jar in one hand, kneeling next to him on the bed. Leaning down slightly, you opened the jar, getting a bit of cream on your fingers, dabbing it onto his affected skin. He inhales sharply, and sighs softly.   
  
“It... Stings for a second. But feels good after,” he says softly. You simply smile at him, admiring how surprisingly peaceful he looks with his eyes closed.

”Good,” you say softly, your fingers gently working the cream into his skin. He gets tense for a moment, and you figure he’s probably overthinking to himself.

”I can do this alone,” he says quietly.

”It’s okay, I’m here to help you,” you say. Zuko grits his teeth slightly. He doesn’t want to enjoy it, but he does, very much so. He nods quietly, and continue to rub the cream in.

”You poor thing,” you say softly. “I can’t imagine how bad that hurts.”

”Yes, you can,” he says softly, sitting up. He grabs your wrist gently, pushing it down and away from his face. You look at him, confused, but he evades eye contact for a moment. 

“I hurt you, your neck,” he says, looking you in the eye, pressing your fingers against your own raw skin. You jump slightly at the pain, your eyes watering. Zuko’s eyes widen, and he quickly lets go of your hand.

”I’m so sorry,” he says softly, picking up the jar. ”Now you lay, let me put some on your wound.”

”No,” you say nervously, knowing that it will sting.

”Come on, you did it for me. And I’m the one who hurt you,” he says softly. You sigh and sit silently for a moment, before he scoots back and you lay down beside him. He sits upright further, and moves onto his knees. You squeeze your eyes shut, and he dabs some cold lotion onto your wound. You whimper and squirm a bit, grabbing his wrist with one hand. He places his knee on your hand, trapping it down. You try to stay strong and not move, or make any noise, but it’s too difficult.

Your other hand darts to his wrist, and you start to pull and tug at it, your hand under his knee wiggling a bit.

”It hurts,” you whine softly, a tear slipping out of your closed eye.

”It’s okay, just let me finish, please,” Zuko says softly. He grabs your wrist with his free hand, pinning it by your head. You twist a bit, feeling trapped. You whimper quietly as he adds more lotion, your hands balled into tight fists to try to combat the pain.   
  
“There,” he whispers quietly, almost in your ear. You open your eyes, looking up at him as he stares down at you. The two of you lock eyes for a moment, and he simply gives you a slight smile. You return one, your eyes teary. 

“Prince Zuko,” you hear, as well as the door opening.

”I brought you- oh.”

General Iroh laughs softly, and simply sets the trays of food down on the dresser next to the door.   
  
“I’m sorry to intrude.”

”No, Uncle, I was just-...”

Zuko scrambles for an explanation as he releases your wrists, standing up.

”No need to explain yourself, Prince Zuko, I know what it’s like to be a young man.”

”I was tending to her wounds!”

”That’s not what it looked like to me, but whatever you say,” he says softly, placing down a tea pot, as well as two empty cups.

”Please just enjoy your meals,” he says, his voice laced with amusement. You sit up, your cheeks flushed with embarrassment; you can’t even look in his direction.

”How is she doing?” He asked Zuko quietly.

”Better. Her temperature is back up,” Zuko says. Iroh simply nods, placing a hand on Zuko’s bare shoulder, smiling.

”Like I said. Enjoy your meal. I will see you in the morning, Prince Zuko,” Iroh said. Zuko gave a hum of agreement, and his uncle turned, leaving. As soon as the door closed, Zuko covered his face in embarrassment, and you couldn’t help but to smile.


	6. Chapter 6

After the two of you enjoyed your food, carefully eating on Zuko’s bed, you gathered up the dirtied dinnerware and stacked it, placing it down on the table. You shivered a bit, giving Zuko a soft grin.

”Thank you,” you say. 

Zuko only nods, looking at you with worry in his eyes. You look back at him, concerned.

”What? What is it?”

”You. Your cell is far too cold for you to survive another night down there, and all of our other cells are filled up,” he says. You sunk down slightly, crossing your arms. You weren’t the only one on the ship- even if the others weren’t from your tribe, there were still others.

”We separated the benders from the non-benders... and you’re the only non-bender we have. You had valuable information,” he says.

”Have. You have valuable information,” he corrected.

”Anyways. You have no lodging. While you’re just a prisoner, we can’t have you dying.”

You look down, the pit in your stomach which had subsided a bit with the past few somewhat pleasant times with Zuko, returned. You were always just a pawn, even less than that. Simply a prisoner being held in order to obtain information. 

“I suppose you’re going to have to remain here,” he says, rubbing his chin gently, staring at the ground.   
  


You? Sleeping in the same room with the prince of the fire nation. You could be sick... But simultaneously, you were fearless. You felt as though you had gotten on better terms with Zuko; he would not hurt you. He had been protecting you from the elements over the course of the past few hours, and you bonded a bit with him. As much as you struggled to come to terms with it, the boy you were raised to believe was a monster, an atrocious offspring of an evil spirit, was actually a human being, who felt things as much as you (If not, more, noting his short temper).   
  


“Alright,” you said quietly, picking up your almost empty cup of tea, drinking the last bit of it.

”I’ll sleep on the floor,” Zuko said. You nearly choked on your tea.

”Prince Zuko... Sleeping on a floor. You. On a floor,” you asked.

”Yes.”  
  


“Not if I have anything to do with that,” you said.

“Well you can’t sleep on the floor. You’ll surely get too cold and... be in danger again,” Zuko said.

”Well that’s too bad. We’ll just have to see what happens. I’m not sleeping until you sleep. In your bed,” you hum defiantly.

”Fine! Then I won’t until you fall asleep! In my bed!”

”Fine!” 

You sit besides Zuko on his bed, and fight a yawn. You weren’t that sleepy, but you had to make a point to yourself that you weren’t, and that you could beat Zuko at even his best game- stubbornness.

—

Hours later

—

The two of you laid on opposite sides of Zuko’s bed, exhausted, dry eyes staring at the ceiling.

”He seems like a wonderful Uncle,” you said softly. Zuko had just talked about his Uncle Iroh to you, telling you the tale of his life. You asked him why he was by Zuko’s side all of the time, and why they were stationed on the same ship. The two of you were teary eyed.

”Yes, but sometimes he just-“

”No, Zuko, there’s no buts. He’s incredibly kind and patient with you, and gives you all he can. He loves you. Like a son. Even I can tell that.”

Tears flood out of Zuko’s eyes and he sits up, wiping them off.

”You’re right, (Y/N). I’m horrible.”

”No, no you’re not. It’s just hard to understand how much someone really cares for you sometimes,” you say, your voice groggy and soft. Zuko yawns, tears still dripping from his face as he struggles to plug them. You sigh softly and sit up, glancing at Zuko. Your sleepy eyes soften up at the sight of his sad face, and your lips part slightly to speak.   
  


“Don’t say anything... What do you know? What do you know about me? You’re a water tribe peasant?”

You flinch a bit at his loud voice and sigh quietly. Zuko’s not used to being open about his emotions, and you have to deal with it for now. You can only nod and rub his arm gently as he cries a bit more.

“I know, Zuko, I know.”

Zuko inhales deeply, and exhales, steadying his breathing and drying his eyes. 

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he says softly. You smile a bit at him, and he can’t help to smile back.

”I think I’m just tired. I’m never this emotional,” Zuko says.

Right.

”And you had a good, long training session. Just close your eyes,” you say softly.

”No,” he says, laying back again.

”I won’t.”

You smile softly and sit silently, waiting for him to fall asleep.   
“I’m not letting you sleep on the floor,” he hums, almost as if he’s sleep talking.

”Even if that means we have to share the bed... It’s too cold for you,” he adds, blabbering on tiredly. He stretches out slightly, relaxing his hands down and placing a hand on your leg unknowingly. You stay silent, hoping he’ll fall asleep soon.   
  


He does. Quickly.

But now, his arms are wrapped tightly around your legs. You can’t help but appreciate the warmth of his body against yours. It’s comforting to sleep with someone, especially in weather so cold. You feel your eyes grow heavy- what would the point of getting up to lay on the floor be if you would just wake Zuko anyways? It couldn’t hurt to sleep in the same bed as him. Nothing would happen, you two were facing opposite directions anyways, and you were simply his prisoner, as he was your captor.   
  
He was your captor. You kept repeating this to yourself into your sleep, your dreams being tainted by the negative connotation to these thoughts. Terrors of your tribe being in danger, and you not being able to do anything trapped you in your body. You saw your family struggling against fire nation soldiers. You even saw yourself being engulfed in flames. You felt the heat, and you were terrified.

”Hey, hey,” you heard, a firm hand shaking you.

You snapped up, panting and gasping for air. Tears stained your face and you blinked quickly, the flames fading from your imagination.   
“It’s okay, it was just a dream,” Zuko says softly, his eyes glossy. He knew it had been about the fire nation attacks, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He was the reason you were here right now, apart from your family.   
“Come here,” he says, patting the soft mattress besides him. You clumsily shifted over to lay in the same direction as him, your hands shaking in fear.   
  
“It’s okay, you’re safe,” he says, gently pushing your hair off of your face, allowing you to cool off. You nod, despite the feeling of terror that continued to hold you by your throat.

”Do you need anything?”

You could only shake your head and lay it back down against the pillow, your breaths shallowing and returning to normal.

”I’m right here if you do,” he said, his voice still sleepy.   
  


“I-I’m sorry,” you manage, your voice shaking still.

”For what?” He almost scoffs.

”Waking you up.”

He can only shake his head and laugh softly. Rubbing your arm.   
  
“Shh. Try to go back to sleep. I’m right here... Maybe me being right here will keep you warm. Maybe this isn’t so terrible,” he says softly, placing one hand gently on your abdomen, sliding it around your waist, then lifting it and fire bending a bit. You jump at the sudden flames.

”No, not now,” you cry out.   
  


“Right. I’m sorry.”

Zuko frowns awkwardly, unsure of how to help you further. Little did he know, he was helping so much by just doing his best. It made you warm to see the “cold blooded” heir of the fire nation throne be so caring.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry for the short chapter, but it’s helping me to lead into where I really want the story to go :oo

The next morning, you woke, alone in Zuko’s bed. You sat up, shivering and looking around for any signs of the prince. The only hints of him were a dirtied tray with breadcrumbs and a half empty cup of tea that he had probably been sipping on before you woke up. Something felt off to you, but you weren’t quite sure what it was. Your balled fists rubbed the tired out of your eyes, and you brushed your hair back out of your face, standing up, your legs trembling a bit. It was so cold, and you felt so uncomfortable, although you weren’t so sure what was wrong. Making your way towards the desk with the tray placed on it, your focus shifted down to the leftover food on the tray. A biscuit and some type of jam or jelly. You took a bite of it, sure he left it there for you. You sighed softly at the taste of it, and the off feeling slipped from your mind- perhaps you’d had a bad dream that you couldn’t quite remember, or your body was just sending odd signals to your brain because it was too cold.

You enjoyed the biscuit, drinking small sips of Zuko’s tea between each bite to combat the dryness that the biscuit unfortunately had. As you reached down for a second swig of tea, you glance down on the desk, noticing another specimen; a paper. You nosily skim the top of it, and read it to yourself. You take note of one line in particular. In neat lettering, the line reads

”Fire Nation Colony/Mainland Treaty of War against: Northern Water tribe”

Your heart drops, and you glance up at the door, scared of Zuko, or someone else, barging in on you reading something you’re not meant to read. Your eyes continue skimming.

”If, unfortunately, caused harm, casualties damage to property, the Fire Nation military is not responsible, therefore offers no type of compensation to soldiers/families of said soldiers.”

You swallow dryly, and notice the signature underneath the writing. Zuko’s name, scribbled onto the line. You let out an uncontrollable sigh, your stomach feeling like an empty pit. You felt hurt by the fact that he acted so caring, so willing to make sure you were okay, and then was so quick to sign a practical war contract against your people. 

Your jaw trembled a bit, and you heard the door start to creak open. You quickly dried the few droplets that had formed in your eyes, turning your direction back to the tray, clutching both sides of it, staring at it intently, your heart pounding. You were furious, you wanted to attack him, but you couldn’t. He was far stronger than you, and you knew it. Your only chance would be to escape when the time came.

”Good morning,” Zuko said calmly, walking past you. You could only hum in response, afraid to let him hear your voice breaking. He slid off his Fire Nation coat, revealing a black, long sleeve sweater underneath it.   
  
“How did you sleep? Well, I hope,” Zuko adds, facing towards the bed, his back turned to you.   
  


Fuck it.   
  


You picked up the tray swiftly, and smash it into his head, the metal dinging loudly. Zuko groans and falls to the ground, turning back at you angrily. You throw the tray onto the ground, tears spilling out of your eyes.

”How could you?!”

”What? What did I do to you?” Zuko quickly stands, angrily shouting at you, his form looming over you. You pick up the porcelain teacup and throw it at him, the lukewarm tea splashing over him. He huffs and fumbles it, before throwing it onto the ground beside him.

You glance over to the desk, gripping the paper by the middle, crumpling it slightly and slamming it towards him. His eyes flash with slight shock, but return to normal.

”You don’t understand, I have to do this. The Avatar is surely here,” Zuko says, calmly and softly.

You grit your teeth and shake your head.

”Is the Avatar worth all of the people dying? All of my people? I thought you were becoming my friend, Zuko. But I don’t think you’re even capable of being anyone’s friend,” you spit at him angrily.   
  


“Of course the Avatar is worth people dying! But I don’t even do any of the killing, I-“

”You direct it, Zuko. Your orders are what killed my people, and what continue to kill people. Listen to me Zuko, you don’t have to prove anything to anyone, not even yourself,” you cry out.

”(Y/N), I have to do this. Not just for myself, but for my family. Not to prove anything, but to gain back what I lost,” Zuko says.

”Why? What is it that you lost? Just tell me, what is it?”

Zuko swallows dryly and chuckles softly, shaking his head.

”Why would I expect you to understand?”

Zuko pushes you out of the way. Not too hard, but it was extremely cold. You let yourself fall to the floor, and he walks out of the door, contract in hand. You sob softly, fearing for your life, as well as the lives of your tribe and the Northerners. You huff and puff, praying to the spirits in your mind to give some help to you all, and most of all, to make Zuko snap out of whatever trance he’s been stuck in for all of this time.

You figured you had to be hours from the Northern Tribe by now, and you had to prepare yourself. Wiping your face, you rose, stumbling to Zuko’s wardrobe. Grabbing a similar black sweater to the one he had been wearing before, you pulled it on, followed by the coat he had left on the ground earlier. You were going to get out of this place, and you were going to fight beside your people. 


End file.
